Home Spanish Poster English Poster Provide Information Links Searches Journal Tributes

The Search for Rachel, a father's journal

Tuesday, June 1

The cookbook order is finally in the mail. It's a relief to get the order off to the publisher. The design and manufacturing should take 30-45 days.Hopefully we will receive our order in early July. As soon as I find out a shipping date, I will allow preordering of the cookbook.

We went with the hardback cover and 400 recipes. The recipes were submitted by people in all 50 states and 13 foreign countries. I'll try and put any updates on the cookbook on the cookbook information page.

Wednesday, June 2

I was tied up with work and other personal business today. I didn't get a chance to work on Rachel's case or RAN duties.

Thursday, June 3

I received a call this afternoon from Lewisville, Texas. A 4-year-old boy has been missing for over 24 hours. The Lewisville Police department and trained volunteers have been searching for Marcus Savage.

I told a family friend of Marcus' family about the rachelalert.org web site and what it contains. I also called Tim Miller from Texas EquuSearch to see if TES can help out. Tomorrow I will follow up on the case.

Friday, June 4

I didn't hear from Marcus Savage's family today. I know that Texas EquuSearch has created a missing person flyer for him, and they are asking for search volunteers.

The Lewisville Police are still searching for Marcus. Hopefully they will find him soon. If the search lasts through Sunday, I may drive up to Lewisville.

I confirmed with the cookbook publisher this morning. They have received our cookbook order, and they have everything they need to start the publication process.

Saturday, June 5 and Sunday, June 6

Marcus Savage's remains were found in a car trunk about 20 miles away from his apartment. His father has been arrested for his murder. I just can't understand how someone could do t his to a 4-year-old child.

Rachel Alert Network will have a booth at a couple of back-to-school children's safety and health fairs in August. More details on the fairs will be announced later.

Monday, June 7

I spoke with two people from the cookbook publishing company. The first person was an editor who had a question about the information pages. The second person had a question about the artwork for the cover design.

The cookbooks will take longer to manufacture than we thought. The cookbooks will not be shipped until late July. At least we will have them for the Christmas season.

Tuesday, June 8

I had to work late today, so I didn't get much done for RAN. I have been unloading the extra packets from the Run/Walk for Rachel. We can reuse the flyers and RAN brochures.

Wednesday, June 9

I mailed some of Rachel's buttons and a special flyer to Project Jason. Project Jason is sponsoring an adopt-a-missing person program. Kids will pick a missing person, take his or her flyer and buttons, and spread the word about that missing person. It's a great "grass roots" movement.

I also faxed the cookbook manufacturer an artist's release for Rachel's sketch. The sketch will appear on the cover of the cookbook. It's the same sketch which Rachel's mother drew that was on this year's Run/Walk for Rachel T-shirts.

I ran into Sheriff Wilson at the grocery store today. He gave me a quick update on what they have done the past few weeks on Rachel's case. I wish someone would come forward with the information needed to find Rachel.

Thursday, June 10

The Shawn Hornbeck Foundation said I can talk about any topic during my 30-minute speech next week in St. Louis. I will be speaking immediately before the M.U.S.T. seminar at KidsFest.

I added a "three T-shirts for the price of two" special on the extra large 2004 Run/Walk for Rachel shirts. We have a larger number of that size. The details may be found on rachelalert.org.

Friday, June 11

I spoke with Tim Miller from Texas EquuSearch today. There is a missing girl from San Antonio he had not heard about. Twelve-year-old Rosa Sandoval has been missing since May 28, 2004. I put Rosa's picture on Rachel's Message Board.

The UNSOLVED MYSTERIES and MISSING programs on Rachel are still generating interest in Rachel's case. I receive word from people throughout the United States that they have seen one of the two programs. I hope one of the programs generates a lead to bring Rachel home.

Saturday, June 12 and Sunday, June 13

Pam Akers, the mother of missing Shawn Hornbeck, has been recognized for her hard work with missing person cases. The Olympic Committee has chosen her as one of the three St. Louis Olympic Torch Runners. My congratulations go to Pam!

I've been transferring video of Rachel from videotape to digital. One of the tapes is already worn badly. I want to preserve everything I have. These tapes are one of the few things we have left to remember her by.

Monday, June 14

I'm putting together some buttons and flyers for our trip to St. Louis. We will have a busy day on Saturday. Our M.U.S.T. instructor, Deborah Brown, is doing two seminars that day. Deborah will be doing most of the work. I only speak for 30 minutes at the KidsFest event.

I found out some details about Shawn Hornbeck's mother Pam's Olympic torch bearing. Pam will receive the torch at approximately 5:58 p.m. on Thursday, June 17, 2004. Her leg will begin on Big Bend Blvd at Tampa in St. Louis and will continue for about a quarter mile down Big Bend Blvd. to a point just past Laclede Station Rd. I wish I could be there to watch her.

Tuesday, June 15

I received another 300 of Rachel's buttons today. Charles, our button maker, said we are now his number one customer. We have ordered 2,600 of Rachel's buttons in the last two years. I sent three dozen of the buttons to Nebraska for Project Jason's Adopt a Missing Person program. They have already given out the other buttons I sent.

A new feature has been added to Rachel's Message Board. People can now upload image files up to 512K in size. I will be monitoring the images to make sure they deal with missing persons and other victims. I will not allow the board to be a place to post jokes and pictures of people's pets. There are plenty of other places on the Internet to post these.

Wednesday, June 16

The cookbook publisher has mailed a proof of the cookbook. I hope it arrives before I leave for St. Louis. It will be nice to see the cover design. Waiting for the cookbooks has been more difficult than I thought. I guess I'm just anxious to receive the books and start selling them.

Project Jason received the Rachel buttons I mailed them. Rachel's story has been a popular one at the Adopt a Missing Person program. I saw pictures of girls wearing her buttons at the event.

Thursday, June 17

Our fund-raiser cookbook proof arrived today. It looks really good. My sister Elaine and I will check it for errors and then mail it back to the cookbook publisher. The artwork for the cookbook cover should also arrive soon.

I put together a lot of brochures and other information for the two M.U.S.T. seminars in the St. Louis area. Information from the Texas Attorney General's Office, The Laura Recovery Center, and Rachel Alert Network will be available for people who want it.

Friday, June 18

A group of us flew to St. Louis MO today. Tomorrow Deborah Brown will teach two M.U.S.T. self-defense and awareness seminars in St. Louis.

Major Bob Lowery, the Commander of the St. Lewis Major Case Squad and Assistant Police Chief with the Florissant Police Department, picked Deborah and me up to go out to eat in the Italian section of St. Louis. Major Lowery's wife, my sister Elaine, and her husband Bob also joined us for dinner.

Saturday June 19

Our first M.U.S.T. seminar was in the city of Florissant. Over 40 women attended the seminar as well as a few members of the Florissant Police Department. I have to say that the Florissant Police Department is really involved in their community. They frequently sponsor programs like the M.U.S.T. seminars.

After the morning seminar, we grabbed a bite to eat and then headed to the KidsFest event sponsored by the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation. I visited a little bit with Shawn's parents and then gave a short speech. Deborah started the KidsFest M.U.S.T. seminar after that. Twelve women attended the seminar. The attendance was a little down this year at the event.

Life in St. Louis seems to have gone back to normal after Shawn's and Christian Ferguson's disappearances and Casey Williamson's murder. People seem to no longer be worried. It's unfortunate they are not taking the time to go to programs like KidsFest and M.U.S.T. seminars. These are the types of events and programs that help keep the public safe. People should not wait until the next rape, murder, or abduction to learn how to protect themselves. You don't have to go through life afraid. You should just be cautious.

Sunday, June 20

Deborah Brown, her brother Dan, and I flew home today. Yesterday was a very busy but rewarding day. We trained a lot of women and made some good law enforcement connections.

The cookbook cover art was waiting for me when I got home. The cookbook design team did a wonderful job with it. I'm not going to change a thing on the cover.

Monday, June 21

Project Jason reported that 19 people in Nebraska "adopted" Rachel in their Adopt a Missing Person program. Rachel was the number one female to be adopted. That means now even more people know her story.

My sister Elaine has almost finished checking over the cookbook proof. Some of the errors were made by the cookbook publisher and some of them were errors I missed. I will mark the corrections and mail the proof to the publisher tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 22

The cookbook and cover proofs are in the mail. The publisher will receive the books later this week and start setting up the production.

I found out last week that Bill Bickle was released from about.com. Mr. Bickel is setting up a new crime forum. I will post a link to his site in a future journal. Mr. Bickel has been very helpful with missing person and violent crime cases.

Wednesday, June 23

A new batch of bumper stickers arrived yesterday. We will take a stack of stickers around to our distribution points this week. The bumpersticker pickup locations are listed on rachelcookesearch.org/bumpersticker.html.

Thursday, June 24

I gave some of Rachel's bumper stickers to my sister Elaine. She will drop off some stickers at Trade Secret in Northcross Mall. I dropped off some bumper stickers and buttons at the UPS Store in Georgetown at 4500 Williams Drive.

I spoke with my friend Lanie from Germany last night. She has been talking to Project Jason about setting up a way to provide missing person buttons for the families of the missing. They already have one sponsor to help pay for the families who can't afford them. Maybe Rachel Alert Network can make a small contribution to this good cause.

Friday, June 25

Some of our helpers are starting to spread the word about the next M.U.S.T. self-defense and awareness seminar. The seminar will take place at B's Gathering House in Round Rock on Sunday, July 11 from 2:00-5:00 p.m. The seminar is free, and more information may be found on rachelalert.org/must.

I found a new shopping cart program that will make a better looking cart for Rachel Alert Network. I'll switch to using it before we put the cookbook sales on-line.

Saturday June 26 and Sunday, June 27

I worked on the new Rachel Alert Network fundraiser shopping cart and around the house this weekend and relaxed a little. Last weekend was so busy I thought I needed a break.

Monday, June 28

We are still working to try and bring the M.U.S.T. self-defense and awareness seminars into the local middle and high schools. I've been contacted by another agency who would like to teach an abduction prevention class to elementary school children. I think the elementary school program and the M.U.S.T. seminars will help protect our children.

The cookbook publishing company should have everything it needs now to complete our cookbooks. Now we just have to sit back and wait for the order.

Tuesday, June 29

Another missing child was found deceased.Four-year-old Cassandra Hodges' body was found this week. Cassandra's mother and the mother's boyfriend have been charged with her murder and faked abduction.

I still don't understand how a parent can do this to his or her own child. This happens way too often.

Wednesday, June 30

RAN has confirmed its attendance at a back to school event in Austin on Saturday, August 7. We may also be doing a similar event in Williamson County on the same day. I will post more details on the event(s) later.

We ordered some promotional Rachel Alert Network pens to give away at events like children's health festivals and back to school programs. The RAN web site is listed on the pens to help people remember we are here to help. The pens are one of the cheapest items we could find, and people do use them.